THE VETERINARY PROFESSION. 
259 
to take those measures necessary for bringing the matter before 
the legislature : as members of Council the Professors ought to 
have known this. They should have been aware that the Com- 
mittee referred to waited only until the registration list was per- 
fected to pursue their labours. They ought not to require to be 
told that the Council have been and are desirous of getting intro- 
duced into Parliament a bill to relieve the veterinary profession 
from the liabilities to which they are injuriously exposed. The 
plan for accomplishing this object has been prepared ; and till it 
had been tried, and had failed, the voluntary assumption of the 
leadership was not called for. That post was filled — the ground 
was occupied : and the gratuitous appearance of the Professors 
will not expedite the victory. Interference, however, may create 
confusion — two parties struggling to gain one end may cause im- 
pediment. Such a result might not be objectionable to those who, 
having private purposes to serve, wished only to raise a party, 
and to take the lead. 
Now, how far the generosity of the plea was genuine may be 
conjectured from the clauses which the proposed new charter con- 
tains. Whether that instrument was concocted to advance our 
science or enrich our body, let those who have perused it say. 
Let any one who has read its clauses declare if, supposing it pos- 
sible the provisions they contain could be authorized, the vete- 
rinary profession would be benefitted. 
The forty -eighth clause directs, that an} 7 person who shall possess 
a diploma from any of the universities, or from any veterinary 
school, -^-no matter where such school may be — in any colony, or 
in foreign parts, or from any medical college or society, shall be- 
come a member of the veterinary profession after he has attended 
the lectures of one session. 
It is not my wish to write one word which might savour of dis- 
respect for the medical profession. To the labours of that noble 
and learned body I acknowledge myself indebted. Two-thirds of 
my little library is composed of medical works. I consult their 
writings when in difficulty, and I rarely do so without being 
assisted by the information they afford. I am proud of the debt I 
owe, and wish not to deny it : at the same time I must admit, that 
however close may be the principles, the practice of the two pro- 
fessions is widely separated. He who has learned to treat the 
human being has not therefore acquired the power to administer 
to the diseases of the lower animals. When the surgeon essays 
to cure his horse, the animal generally dies. This fact is so well 
known, that cow doctors and farriers even are aware of it. The 
study of human surgery seems rather to unfit than to prepare the 
mind for veterinary knowledge. Numerous are the instances of 
